Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1887-01-08
MONTANA.

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it for himself, that away UP here under
the international line the cactus, prickiy
pear, Spanish bayonet, horned toad, rattle
snake, prairie dogs by the countless thou
sand. and other such semi-tropical pro
ducts flourish in lu1uriance, where every
winter the blizzard gives us an occasional
station the thermometer shows a mini
mum temperature each season Of from 80
to 60 degrees below zero-59i4 degrees be
low in December 1889, and lower than 80
degrees below several times since? 1t is
true, however, that not only the elements.
the wind, storm OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
and animals, but even society itself. has
been worked up into a strange series OF
surpriees and contradictions i'll this our
land of the great chinook.
A winter month will show weather SO
warm and fine, and calm. that the grass
will GROW for days at q time and man and
beast will bask in the sunshine OF sum
mer. This at times will be the predomi-
mating character of the whole season. But
the wind can blow cold and the wind can
blow snow in Montana when the blizzard
starts in from the north,-as it will some
times do with but little notwithstanding
down the mercury to zero and below with
a bowling and driving storm, when but
IA day before all had been quiet and sun
ny. 1t is very rarely, however, that these
storms leave us more than an inch y two
of snow, and if six inches or more should
fall it is usually SO much drifted that feed
can be found by stock where it has blown
off. After the storm has blown over, if
the wind still comes from the north, or it
is calm, look out for cold weather.
It is at this time that some clear, still
night, about the first of January, usually,
we touch our coolest notch. In the morn
ing, the atmosphere presents a gorgeous
sight, filled as it is with floating diamonds
sparkling with every hue Of the spectrum.
The sun rises without a suggestion of a
cloud and attended by splendid great sun
dogs, almost as brilliant and dazzling as
the sun itself. When the sun is up high
enough, it will be surrounded by a huge
ring of brilliant colors, from two to six sun
dogs, all Of which-with the sparkling at
mosphere. trees, bushes and every object
in range CT the eye. which will show the
presence of the matches work Of Jack
Frost-make up a spectacle that can only
be appreciated when seen. But, oh, it is
cold, bitter cold, and the fock-master can
hardly enter into the beauties of the frost
work as he looks at his poor old ewes
the n with the thin blood that attends so
persistently upon the tootEless gum. AS
she stands there with a hump in her back
as sharp as a barn roof-With her belly
drawn up until it looks as if it would
break her backbone in two, and with all
four feet and her nose upon the ground,
covering a space no larger than the palm
of his hand, the owner wonders if there
can anything e straighten her out again.
AS the sheep man looks at the thermome-
ter and finds it still 500 below zero even
at 10 o'clock, and then looks off upon the
snow covered range where there is no
feed in sight, he concludes it is no use to
hope for any feed that day excepting such
as he can give from the hay stacks. But
what is that noise? Yes, it is surely a
chinook. The snow begins to blow as the
wind from the southwest increases in vio-
lence. The mountains, the hills, the
ridges and the very plains themselves look
as if they were on fire as the dry light
snow rises like huge clowds of smoke.
The thermometer is climbing rapidly. In
an hour it is up to zero; in another hour it
is twenty above: 0 after forty above
and the snow stops blowing and begins to
melt. By night it is above p~erhapsssixty
hundred degrees higher than it was
twenty-four hours beforehand the wind
blowing with a velocity Of anywhere from
twenty-five to ~seyenty-fve miles an hour
1t is a common thing for our signal station
records TO show a chinook wind Of forty
miles an hour while at times the velocity
has reached to twice that figure. These
figures represent a terrific wind-one that
can be more perfectly realized after the
attempt has been made to walk or ride
against it, or perhaps still better, after one
has tried to drive a band of sheep against
it. It is during these winds that the shift
less ranchman contemplates the interest
ing spectacle Of a first-class race over the
prairie Of his wash tubs, wash boilers, scut-